Lost in Another
by gibbonsarenotmonkeys
Summary: Shepard and Thane take a vacation to the desert following the suicide mission. Smut alert, nothing but filth, really, and a little bit of fluff. Takes place following the events of Mass Effect 2 (there may be spoilers) but before Mass Effect 3. Updates to come. Shrios abounds!


_"We owe ourselves a memorable vacation."_

_"I would very much like to see... a desert."_

Thane hadn't dared to believe that the vacation they had wistfully spoken of would ever come to pass, not when their prospects of surviving their dangerous mission into the Collector's Base were so slim. And yet, here they were, only days after storming the galactic core and leaving naught but rubble in their wake, lounging under the sun on some world so remote that he had already forgotten the name of it.

The desert was all white sand, stretching out around them for miles, interrupted by sparse growths of rugged shrubs and hardy plants with mountains just barely visible in the distance. The lonely villa they were staying in was made of white stone and glass, looking natural despite being situated in the middle of nowhere.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun so hot above them that it made the air steam before his eyes. He was comfortable in the heat, more comfortable than he had ever been in the cool, humid environments he'd become accustomed to, and even Shepard seemed to be enjoying the heat, despite having had to slather her fair skin with something she'd claimed was 'SPF twenty-million.'

With the Normandy sitting in dry dock nearby, she was unburdened in a way he'd never seen her, and despite the scenery they'd come to enjoy, he was having trouble taking his eyes off her. She was stretched out on a recliner on the stone patio, one slender leg dangling off her chair and into the pool. She'd been swimming earlier, and while the water had already evaporated off her skin, it had left her long, dark hair damp and wavy, hanging loose over her shoulders. It was so rare to see her let her hair down -literally, she usually wore it up in a tight bun- that Thane found it difficult to focus on anything else. Especially considering the fact that she was still wearing her tiny black bikini, a white and red N7 logo eblazoned on one triangle proudly. He had cracked a smile at that, only Alice Shepard would manage to have an Alliance regulation bathing suit at the ready.

"I can feel you staring," she broke the silence without opening her eyes, but a soft smile danced on her lips.

"I can't help it." He answered, getting up from the edge of the patio and walking over to her until his shadow fell over her face, letting her open her eyes without pain. His own eyes were suited to the bright light, but Shepard had to blink to adjust her eyes even in his shadow. "I've never seen you so... at ease."

Her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled, finally turning her bright emerald eyes up to meet his. "I don't even remember the last time I took a real vacation..." She laughed, stretching out on the recliner and arching her back in a way that made his eyes trace the smooth planes of her body. "I keep expecting the comm to buzz and Joker to tell us that we're about to be swarmed by collectors, or geth or something." She was only half joking, and he could hear it in her voice, that war-weariness they had come here to escape, if only for a little while. A part of her was still on alert, it would always be, just as it was with him. Their training, different as it had been, had instilled that alertness in the both of them.

He crouched down beside her, reaching out to touch her face, and she pressed her cheek into his palm, closing her eyes and making a soft noise of pleasure at his touch. "The galaxy can survive a few days on its own, siha." There was a tone of amusement in his voice, and she opened her eyes to glare at him. "You need this."

"I need you." She answered, leaning towards him to kiss him lightly, or at least, that was how it started. But once it began, it grew in intensity, with Shepard wrapping her arms around him and pulling him onto the recliner with her. Once he was settled over her, she ran her fingers over his bare chest, tracing the lines of his muscles with her fingertips. It still surprised her, the smoothness of his green, scaly skin. After Mordin's warning about 'rashes', she'd expected it to be rough. She hadn't had any trouble with that yet, but the Salarian had given her a bottle of ointment for their vacation, _just in case_.

As for Mordin's other warning... well, she broke the kiss and leaned her head back as the familiar tingling sensation spread from her lips, making her feel a little light-headed. Thane moved his lips down to her neck, and she smiled. No danger of him getting high off her skin, at least, not in the psychotropic way. She let her eyes drift shut while his lips moved lower down her body, the combination of his venom and his touch making her body feel like jelly.

He deftly untied her string bikini, the silky material sliding off her body, and she shivered despite the hot sun when his lips found her nipple. His dark eyes flashed up to her face at the minute motion, while his hand traced the curve of her hip. "Siha," he breathed against her flesh, stirring her attention. She blinked her eyes against the white light of the sun, eyes focusing on him despite the colors swimming before her eyes. Hallucination or the sunlight? She couldn't decide.

"Thane?' She echoed back to him when he didn't say anything else, a smile twitching on her lips, she lifted a hand to trace her fingers over his cranial ridge lightly. Something she couldn't quite discern passed across his eyes, and then he dropped his gaze again, his lips cool against the hot flesh of her abdomen making her moan softly as she let her head fall back. She slid her hand down to rest on the back of his neck lightly, making soft noises of encouragement as he slowly, ever so slowly moved down her stomach.

He took his time, his lips and tongue and occasionally his teeth teasing her taut skin at a painstaking pace that made her bite her lip with anticipation. Thane enjoyed being able to draw the moment out. It was rare that they had so much time to spend together, where they didn't need to worry that the ship might be attacked or Shepard would be called away to deal with some imminent crisis. Unfortunately, Shepard wasn't making it easy to be patient.

Between her breathy little noises and the way her body reacted to his touch, he was having trouble holding himself back. She was so beautiful, and the way she arched her back to press herself against him, or the way she shifted her leg to rub her thigh against his side, all spoke of her desire for him. Her need. He wrapped an arm around her thigh, drinking in her gasp as he hefted her knee over his shoulder and descended to tug the knot on her bikini bottom loose with his teeth, leaving her exposed before him.

She drew in a shaky breath as she felt her last scrap of clothing slither away, Thane's breath already tickling her in a deliciously promising way. She lifted her head to see him between her legs, her eyelids fluttering as he tasted her. "Thane," she moaned, her fingers gripping the back of his neck more tightly, her breath uncontrolled. "Oh, god." She muttered, pressing her head back against the chair and squeezing her eyes shut.

Taking his time was out of the question now, with Shepard none too subtly egging him on, both verbally and physically. Her fingernails dug into the back of his neck with abandon, and her vocalizations only increased in volume and frequency, a mixture of his name and expletives he just barely grasped the meaning of. By the time she was finished, even he was panting for breath, but watching the heavy rise and fall of her chest, beads of sweat rolling off her body, made it all worth it.

She rolled onto her side as he moved back up to lay beside her, their bodies close on the thin recliner, and he rested his forehead against hers.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" She asked breathlessly, her smile still firmly in place.

"Mordin gave me some pamphlets on human anatomy," he answered, hesitating slightly before admitting it. "He also suggested that oral stimulation is very important in human mating practices."

"Well, he's not wrong about that." Shepard laughed softly, trailing her fingers down the back of his neck lightly.

"So I've seen." His tone was amused, and she leaned in to press her lips against his.

"Mmm, you learn fast, Krios." She murmured softly against his lips, letting her eyelids drift closed. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing into the small of her back to bring her closer while they kissed. Shepard lost track of time, twining her body with his and letting her hands wander over his muscles freely.

Eventually, she got Thane on his back, her hair falling around his face while they kissed like a dark curtain. He ran his hands from her hips over her ass, urging her closer gently. "Siha," his voice was always rough like sandpaper, but there was an extra edge of desire there, and she lifted her head, pushing her hair back from her face to look at him.

"You want me?" She lifted an eyebrow at him, grinding her hips against his in a way that made him groan.

"I need you," he echoed her earlier words, his dark eyes fixed on her face. She smiled, moving down to pull his swimshorts off. He groaned as he felt her take him into her mouth, her head bobbing up and down a few times before she straightened up, throwing her hair back over her shoulder. She kneeled over his hips, guiding him inside her with a heady gasp.

"Oh god, Thane..." She moaned, before sinking into a fast rhythym that left them both panting for breath. He slid his hands up her body, cupping her breast and gripping her hips to keep her going. He groaned loudly, before he deftly flipped her over and took her place on top. She growled with something akin to annoyance, Shepard didn't like losing control, but Thane pinned her wrists down, before thrusting into her deeply, silencing her protests with her own moans. He grunted with equal parts satisfaction and effort, allowing himself to get lost in the moment, in her.

When they were finished, Thane let himself collapse on top of her, his face coming to rest in the crook of her neck. "Alice..." His breath was hot against her ear, and she smiled.

"You never call me that... I was starting to wonder if you even knew my first name." She teased, and got a breathless chuckle in her ear.

"I know your name, siha." He assured her, switching back to the familiar nickname instead. His body pressed down on her, heavy but not crushing, she actually felt comfortable, his skin cool against her. "And you've made it very clear that you know mine." Shepard's mouth fell open, and she laughed out loud.

"Was that... a joke? Did Thane Krios just tease me?" Shepard was aghast, but Thane's little chuckle made it clear that that was exactly what had happened. She laughed again, then with a single quick motion, shoved him off of her and right into the pool. She laughed as he floundered with surprise, before disappearing beneath the surface.

Shepard ruffled her hair as she sat up, waiting for him to resurface. After a moment, when he didn't reappear, she leaned forward over the pool, concern coloring her expression. Sometimes, it was so easy to forget that he was dying, that she wasn't as careful as she knew she should be- and that was when a green arm shot out of the water, latching onto her bicep and dragging her into the water.

She barely had time to hold her breath before her body crashed into the water, and she flailed for a moment before Thane's deceptively strong arms righted her, and she gasped for air. He wrapped his arms around her from behind while she caught her breath. "Looks like you got me." She admitted, and he nuzzled her neck affectionately.

"Does that mean you're mine now?"

"I've been yours for a while already, Thane."


End file.
